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How to House-Break a Goat

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Items you will need

Goat

Yard with fence

Diapers

Shelter

Tips

Get your goat spayed or neutered; goats will leave their scent for the opposite sex by peeing. Goats normally group themselves in herds so you may want to consider getting two or more goats to keep your little buddy happy. A happy goat will be a lot easier to train. Do not strike or hit your goat with an object such as a newspaper; goats respond well to positive reinforcement. In other words if your goat has an accident in the house, take him outside and show him where he is supposed to go to the bathroom.

Believe it or not, house-breaking a goat is very similar to house breaking a dog. Goats are traditionally viewed as farm animals, but you can keep them as pets in the house. There are more than 300 breeds of goats to choose from. The most common breeds for house pets are dwarf and pygmy. The reason is that they grow to be about the size of a dog and, of course, they are adorable. House-breaking your goat is very easy as long as the goat is willing to be house trained.

Take your goat outside the minute it wakes up. Use slow and gentle movement when approaching your goat or it will run. Say a command like "go potty" as you take the goat out. This will register in the goat's mind every time it has to urinate.

Wait for the goat to urinate. Say "good boy," and then give your goat a friendly scratch behind the ear. Let the goat play and graze while you're outside; it's not healthy to keep the goat inside constantly, plus grazing outside might help temper the goat's desire to chew your furniture.

Take the goat back indoors. Give the goat a treat like alfalfa. Praise your goat again. Give the goat this specific treat only after going to the bathroom outside.

Place a diaper on your goat. Goats are not like dogs when it comes to going number two; they don't have control over their feces and don't understand the concept of holding it. Change the diaper frequently. Some goat owners allow the animals to roam freely outside after mealtimes and defecate at their natural times, thus making it less likely that the goat will poop inside the house later.